These inventions relate to the field of Danger Warning and Emergency Response Systems and Methods, and more specifically, to comprehensive danger warning and emergency response systems and methods based on the use of GPS location signals used with surveillance satellites, surveillance aircraft/pilotless drones, and ground based mobile and stationary surveillance to detect dangerous situations. Information concerning dangerous situations which exist or may develop and threaten different populations of people in different areas of a county, state, or country, or a group thereof, is transmitted to a warning/command control center which, in-turn, relays broadcast warning messages via pager satellites and/or radio networks or other broadcast communication networks to remote warning devices. The warning devices may be stationary and/or may be mobile units carried in an automobile or on a person, and are responsive to warning signals directed to such devices that are located within specific geographic coordinate locations or areas as determined by the GPS location signals. Expert system technology, such as neural networks and fuzzy logic, is used to derive the emergency warning and dispatch signals.
It is often the case in our complex and advanced technological society that dangerous situations evolve which may threaten the life or property of individual or potentially many hundreds, thousands or even millions of people or to destroy or damage valuable physical assets or natural resources. Such dangerous situations commonly arise because of adverse weather conditions such as violent storms, blizzards, tornados, hurricanes, tidal waves or even extreme conditions of cold or heat. Dangerous situations may also arise because of fire, including, for example, extensive forest or range fires which may threaten populated areas or areas containing other valuable property or natural resources. Another form of dangerous situation may arise from criminal activities, such as are committed by robbers, murderers, rapists, gangs, terrorists or other thugs. In addition to criminal activity, general civil unrest and riots often give rise to dangerous situations in heavily populated areas.
Other dangerous situations that may occur include dangerous chemical spills or toxic waste emissions including emissions into the air or into a water supply or river which is relied upon by large numbers of people. Smog or bad air or other pollution alerts represent another danger we face today. Certain traffic conditions giving rise to unusual congestion and dangerous driving conditions represent another situation that people commonly encounter in our complex society. Contagious diseases may create other potentially dangerous situations that may begin in a localized region and spread outward from that region, endangering many people. Hostile military activities represent yet another dangerous situation that may threaten large population areas. Volcanic disturbances and earthquakes represent additional dangerous situations that may be monitored with the disclosed inventions.
These and other dangerous situations are frequently encountered in our society today. Increasing population densities make it even more urgent that modern technology be employed to the maximum extent to warn large segments of population of impending dangers, and, where possible, to dispatch appropriate assistance to those areas. The need for emergency alerting systems and the possibility of implementing such systems have been recognized in recent years. Examples of such attempts are found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 5,278,539; 4,956,857; 4,993,059; 4,887,291 each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. These systems variously make use of on-premise facility alarm sensors that are used to relay warning signals to appropriate control centers via radio and/or wire line transmission links. Cellular radio links are often used for such emergency communications.
Expert system technology, including neural networks, and fuzzy logic control systems, has also been developed and adapted to a wide variety of uses. In general, expert systems using fuzzy logic inference rules are well known, as described in the following publications, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety: Gottwald, Siegried, Fuzzy Sets and Fuzzy Logic: The Foundations of Application--from a Mathematical Point of View, Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig Wiesbaden (1993), ISBN 3-528-05311-9; McNeil, Daniel, Fuzzy Logic, Simon & Schuster, New York (1993), ISBN 0-671-73843-7; Marks, Robert J. II, Fuzzy Logic Technology and Applications, IEEE Technology Update Series (1994), ISBN 0-7803-1383-6, IEEE Catalog No. 94CR0101-6; Bosacchi, Bruno and Bezdek, James C, Applications of Fuzzy Logic Technology, Sep. 8-10, 1993, Boston, Mass., sponsored and published by the SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering, SPIE No. 2061, ISBN 0-8194-1326-7; Mendel, Jerry M., "Fuzzy Logic Systems for Engineering: A Tutorial", Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 83, No. 3, March 1995, pgs. 345-377; Jang, Jyh-Shing Roger, Sun, Chuen-Tsai, "Neuro-Fuzzy Modeling and Control", Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 83, No. 3, March 1995, pgs. 378-406; Schwartz, Klir, "Fuzzy Logic Flowers in Japan", IEEE Spectrum, July 1992, pgs. 32-35; Kosko, Isaka, "Fuzzy Logic", Scientific American, July 1993, pgs. 76-81; Cox, "Fuzzy Fundamentals", IEEE Spectrum, October 1992, pgs. 58-61; Brubaker, "Fuzzy Operators", EDN, Nov. 9, 1995, pgs. 239-241.
In addition, many patents have been issued for various applications of GPS for locating and tracking objects, and for navigation purposes. Various configurations of GPS-based tracking and communication systems and methods are described in the following documents, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety: Logsdon, Tom, The Navstar Global Positioning System, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York (1992), ISBN 0-422-01040-0; Leick, Alfred, GPS Satellite Surveying, John Wiley & Sons, New York (1990), ISBN 0-471-8 1990-5; Hurn, Jeff, GPS--A Guide to the Next Utility, Trimble Navigation, Ltd., Sunnyvale, Calif. (1989); Hurn, Jeff, Differential GPS Explained, Trimble Navigation Ltd., Sunnyvale, Calif. (1993); and U.S. Pat. Nos.: 5,438,337; 5,434,787; 5,430,656; 5,422,816; 5,422,813; 5,414,432; 5,408,238; 5,396,540; 5,390,125; 5,389,934; 5,382,958; 5,379,224; 5,359,332; 5,418,537; 5,345,244; 5,334,974; 5,323,322; 5,311,197; 5,247,440; 5,243,652; 5,225,842; 5,223,844; 5,202,829; 5,187,805; 5,182,566; 5,119,504; and 5,119,102.
While the above listed patents and known applications of GPS and fuzzy logic/expert system technology represent important innovations, none of these systems or methods take full advantage of the capability of GPS location systems used in combination with one or more earth scanning satellites, aircraft, and mobile and stationary ground based surveillance stations together with modern radio paging, cellular telephone or other broadcast communication networks to implement a truly wide area emergency warning and assistance dispatch system wherein a great multiplicity of people are simultaneously warned of impending or existing dangers and of the degree of danger that may be present in different geographical areas. In view of the ever-increasing occurrence of various dangerous or hazardous situations as noted above, it is critically important that these advanced technologies be brought together in an organized manner to warn various populations that may be subject to such dangerous situations.